POMPERAUG FOOTBALL
NEWS

ATTANASIO PICKED FOR ALL-STAR GAMES
Pomperaug football standout to play in 2 summer games

By Brian Campbell
2000 Republican American

Pomperaug Senior captain Tom Attanasio did not want his high school
football career to end the way it did last December. Not after such an
incredible season.

And even though he and his teammates ended the best season in
school history by walking away from a 61-0 defeat to eventual
Class L champion Fitch-Groton, Attanasio will get at leat two
more chances to shine again at the high school level.

Attanasio was selected to play in two Senior football all-star
games next month. He will play on the New Haven County team
against Fairfield County in the 4th annual Hall of Fame Classic
on July 14. Fifteen days later, on July 29, he will represent
Connecticut in the 2nd annual Chowder Bowl Classic against
Rhode Island.

"I am definitely excited, it just tops off a good season and it will
be interesting to play [these games]," Attanasio said. "After the
Fitch game I knew I didn't want to end my career like this.
It is going to be good to represent Connecticut out there and
show what I can do and have fun one more time. It is all
about fun."

One of the top defensive players in the South-West Conference,
Attanasio, a rugged defensive end/offensive lineman, led the Panthers
to an 8-1-1 record and the school's first trip to the post season.

"This past season was probably the best time of my life," Attanasio
said. "It was a lot of fun and the respect we earned was great.
I can look back and say we were almost undefeated and we were
the first team to go to the playoffs. I think I grew to be a better
player over the four years and I want to keep building."

Next season Attanasio will play at Milford Academy, one of the
top prep football programs in the country and a football factory
designed to prepare players for the competition at the collegaite
level. Attanasio's brother, Jerry, a 1998 Pomperaug graduate,
played at Milford Academy in the fall of 1998 before moving
to Fordam last season.

"Coming out of high school I didn't want to just settle for anything,"
Attanasio said. "I would like to go to Milford and just prove what I
can do. I am not the biggest and fastest player but I want to get my
grades up and get bigger and see what division in college I can go
the highest."

Attanasio plans to work on his speed and strength while playing against
some very competitive college and prep competition.

"My brother told me that at Milford they show you a lot of skills to use
and it is a reality check there since the kids are bigger and huge,"
Attanasio said. "They show you how to play and I want to learn more
to make it an easier transition to college."

After several years of hovering around the .500 mark, Pomperaug appeared
to have built a solid foundation for the future, especially with the help
of it's core four year players like Attanasio. However, the first round
playoff loss to Fitch, which resulted in the widest margin of defeat
in state playoff history, still haunts Attanasio.

"We really thought we were going to win that game and we came in not
cocky, but very confident," Attanasio said. "We had a goal and we didn't
want to settle for just making it to the playoffs. But after the game we were
all just shocked. (Fitch) was unbelievable and I don't know what we could
have done."

Attanasio is confident the Panthers can continue to build on this season's
success with many top players returning.

"I hope next year Pomperaug just does it again and at least matches this
season," Attanasio said. "I don't want people to look back and say
our season was a fluke. It was definitely a breaking out year. We
came back to win a lot of close games. They have a lot of good
players coming back and those guys have won games from behind
and also gone through some losing years. They can do well, but it
will be tough."